Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated that reports of new U.S. military actions against Iran are "extremely alarming," and Russia hopes for a "swift return to normalcy" in the Strait of Hormuz. Zakharova noted that the experience of recent months shows that military actions cannot break the will of the Iranian people to defend their sovereignty, and warned that those threatening new attacks should consider this. She also said that Iran is facing an "illegal U.S. naval blockade" and called for increased diplomatic efforts to support peace process mediators, to which Russia is willing to contribute.